Big-ticket items at Newmarket deliberative session

Tuesday

Jan 29, 2013 at 2:00 AM

NEWMARKET — Town Council Chairman Phil Nazzaro says he's looking forward to Saturday's deliberative session because both the Town Council and School Board will be appearing together for what he hopes is a "healthy debate" by residents about the many spending issues facing the town and school district.

Jeff McMenemy

NEWMARKET — Town Council Chairman Phil Nazzaro says he's looking forward to Saturday's deliberative session because both the Town Council and School Board will be appearing together for what he hopes is a "healthy debate" by residents about the many spending issues facing the town and school district.

"Although we are separate entities, we are one single community," Nazzaro said Sunday about the decision to hold both deliberative sessions on the same day in the same place.

The Town Council and the School Board will hold their deliberative sessions Saturday, Feb. 2 at the Newmarket Junior/Senior High School. The town's portion of the meeting will be from 10 a.m. till noon and the school's portion will start at 1 p.m.

New wastewater treatment plant

The biggest ticket item on the town warrant is the proposal to authorize the spending of $14.1 million to build a new wastewater treatment plant as part of an agreement with the federal Environment Protection Agency to lower the amount of nitrogen discharge into the Lamprey River.

Asked how he thought town officials were doing in selling the project to ratepayers, Nazzaro said Sunday, "I have to say we have more work to do, but I think the deliberative session will give us the opportunity to do that."

In December town officials agreed to accept a nitrogen discharge permit issued by the EPA to reduce the amount of nitrogen discharged from the town's wastewater treatment plant into the Lamprey River to 8 milligrams per liter (mg/l), and then ultimately to 3 mg/l. The existing plant's current nitrogen discharge level is 30 mg/l, Sean Greig, the town's water and sewer superintendent, said recently.

EPA officials contend that nitrogen from wastewater treatment plants in the region are contributing to water quality issues in the Great Bay estuary, including reducing eelgrass and oyster populations.

Town Administrator Steve Fournier said the town decided to accept the permit and enter into an Administrative Order of Consent (AOC) with the EPA in part because of the agency's decision to allow the town of Newmarket to get down to the 3 mg/l level in stages.

The cost of the plant will be paid for by the ratepayers, but it must win the support of three-fifths of the town's registered voters at Town Meeting in March or it will fail.

Residents will also get to debate on Saturday a proposal to spend $2.5 million to develop a new town well because the town cannot meet its current demand, Greig said during a recent Town Council meeting. Water rates will not increase if the project is approved, Greig has said, because the water district has been putting money aside for the project.

New school, other projects

Although residents will have to wait until at least March 2014 to vote on a new school, the prospect of paying for a $47 million new junior/senior high school across the street from the current one may weigh on the minds of residents, both during Saturday's deliberative session, and when they cast their votes in March, Nazzaro acknowledged, saying many residents may feel overwhelmed by all the projects the town is facing.

"Certainly, I'm sure they are, I'm a taxpayer and ratepayer myself and all of the things we're talking about personally affect me too," Nazzaro said during an interview Sunday. "You can't just say OK we're going to address this issue this year without thinking about what's coming down the road."

He also agreed that part of the problem is that towns receive so little financial support from the state, especially on major construction projects like a new junior/senior high school.

"I know this isn't politically popular to say, but I think the revenue structure at the state level is broken," Nazzaro said. "We have a property tax that is very regressive and hurts people, particularly seniors. The system we have is antiquated."

Nazzaro said he would be open not to adding state taxes, but perhaps implementing a fairer tax, like a small sales tax with exceptions on certain items, so everyone pays their fair share, particularly if it meant the elimination of the statewide property tax.

Asked if he thought the property tax system pitted people on fixed incomes against others who might support building a new high school, Nazzaro said, "You end up with seniors or anyone who's on a fixed income, there's a lot of people struggling out there, voting against something simply because they can't afford to pay the added taxes."

Although there is no school construction project on the school warrant, there is a request to spend $706,000 for more fire and life-safety repairs at the high school, while also approving a new teacher's contract which will save the district more than $37,000 during its first year because the teacher's union agreed to switch their health-care coverage. During the following two years, it will cost a total of more than $357,000, according to Superintendent Jim Hayes.

School Board members are also hoping the deliberative session will vote to return $70,000 from the school district's operating budget that the Budget Committee cut last week.

The board met late Tuesday night and voted unanimously against recommending the cut by the Budget Committee.

"I will not support this, absolutely not," School Board member Meg Louney-Moore said of the committee's $70,000 cut. "The last two years we've reduced positions, this year being quite substantial, five positions... All taxpayers should be concerned about the quality of the education or the lack thereof if we don't have the proper personnel in place."

The second session of the annual Town Meeting where residents will cast ballots will be held on Tuesday, March 12 at the Newmarket Town Hall Auditorium from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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